EAT AND FORGET!

EAT AND FORGET!

Deut 6:10-13

10 And it shall be, when the Lord  thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,

11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;

12 Then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

13 Thou shalt fear the Lord  thy God, and serve him…

          God knew that when the Israelites conquered Canaan they would inherit vast wealth in the form of houses, lands and crops. The temptation would be to ascribe these blessings to the personal sacrifice involved in conquering the land or to some other wooden god found in the land. God knew that man has a tendency to eat and to forget.

          The “Black Friday” trend has now become as much a part of our Thanksgiving “holiday” as the turkey! It is well named as there was a report last night of a fist fight between two customers at Wal-Mart regarding the last remaining specially priced television. One man was led away in handcuffs. I wonder if he is thankful this morning for his new orange jumpsuit, plastic shoes and stainless steel toilet?

          Another temptation the Israelites faced was to compromise with the neighboring nations and to forget their separatist position. The Pilgrims sacrificed bitterly to found this new country so that they could worship freely, but we do not credit those hardy individuals with all our blessings today. No, God did that!   

Most people find it easier to handle adversity than prosperity, because adversity usually drives us closer to God as we seek His wisdom and help. When things are going well, we're prone to relax our spiritual disciplines, take our blessings for granted, and forget to "praise God from whom all blessings flow."

(from The Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament © 2001-2004 by Warren W. Wiersbe. All rights reserved.)

Now Thank We All Our God

Words: Martin Rinkart
Music: "Nun Danket" by Johann Crüger; harmony by Felix Mendelssohn

Meter: 13.13.12.12

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in Whom this world rejoices;
Who from our mothers' arms has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.

O may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts and blessed peace to cheer us;
And keep still in grace, and guide us when perplexed;
And free us from all ills, in this world and the next.

All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given;
The Son and Him Who reigns with Them in highest heaven;
The one eternal God, Whom earth and heaven adore;
For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.

Dear Lord, we are fallen from our original estate and, with that fall, have lost our ability to reason and remember. Remind us often that every good gift comes from you. AMEN